A 14-year-old Canadian student drowned and spent an estimated 38 minutes underwater during a high school swim class before anyone realized he was at the bottom of the pool, according to official reports.
The coroner’s investigation, released Monday, urged a comprehensive overhaul of how swim instruction is conducted in schools after the death of eighth-grader Blessing Claude Moukoko in February, the Montreal Gazette reported.
On Feb. 15, Moukoko was participating in a required swimming lesson at Montreal’s Centre Père-Marquette when he apparently slipped beneath the surface in the deep end and went unnoticed. Classmates only discovered his submerged body after the physical education period had ended, officials said.
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